Biden visits DMZ as North Korea releases U.S. tourist

The Associated Press

Published
9:49 am EST, Saturday, December 7, 2013

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2013 file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed Nov. 30, 2013 by the Korea News Service, U.S. citizen Merrill Newman, 85, reads a document, which North Korean authorities say was an apology that Newman wrote and read in North Korea. North Korea said Saturday Dec. 7, 2013, that it has deported the elderly U.S. tourist and war veteran detained for more than a month for alleged hostile acts against the country. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) less

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2013 file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed Nov. 30, 2013 by the Korea News Service, U.S. citizen Merrill Newman, 85, reads a document, which North ... more

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FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2013 file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed Nov. 30, 2013 by the Korea News Service, U.S. citizen Merrill Newman, 85, reads a document, which North Korean authorities say was an apology that Newman wrote and read in North Korea. North Korea said Saturday Dec. 7, 2013, that it has deported the elderly U.S. tourist and war veteran detained for more than a month for alleged hostile acts against the country. (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS) less

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2013 file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and distributed Nov. 30, 2013 by the Korea News Service, U.S. citizen Merrill Newman, 85, reads a document, which North ... more

Photo: AP

Biden visits DMZ as North Korea releases U.S. tourist

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OUELLETTE, South Korea >> U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the no-man’s land separating North and South Korea came just hours after the North freed an American tourist the regime had been holding for more than a month.

Surrounded on three sides by North Korea, Biden looked through binoculars at the enemy soil less than 100 feet away. Across the demarcation line, North Korean troops stared back.

Biden’s visit on Saturday to the Demilitarized Zone was long planned as a capstone to his weeklong Asia tour.

Biden says he’s not sure why the North freed 85-year-old Merrill Newman. He says he played no direct role in Newman’s release.

North Korea previously has made gestures at significant moments to seize the spotlight away from South Korea.